Reebok Outdoor Wild Running Shoe Review

(pre apology for the horrible formatting of this post. It didn’t make the transition from blogger to wordpress as well as others did, and I’m having a hard time fixing it)

One of the recent, and somewhat frequent, queries that brings people to this site as of late has been the hunt for a review of the Reebok Outdoor Wildtrail running shoe. As luck would have it, we have just acquired two new pairs of this shoe in the RFC household. Sadly (for me at least), they are both Geoff’s shoes, and while I eye them with trail running envy, I’m happy to be able to share his review with my readers.

While this is not the obstacle course racing (OCR) specific shoe that Reebok has been busy designing (that will be released in the spring of 2014), this shoe certainly fits the bill for anyone looking for an aggressive trail shoe that can withstand the brutality of an OCR course; mud, walls, and rope climbs alike.

According to Reebok:Built for the everyday trail runner and outdoor enthusiast, our Outdoor Wild running shoe features a highly durable outsole, a breathable mesh upper, and a midfoot crash area to help maintain balance on any terrain.

Heel counter for rear foot support and a midfoot crash area to help maintain balance on any terrain

Rubberized molded toecap and full length CRTek active traction high abrasion outsole for durability and protection

Approximate weight: 9.9 oz

MSRP $84.99 (discounted available on Amazon* affiliate link)

Now for the review, in Geoff’s words (with the occasional editorial from yours truly):I’ve never felt a pair of shoes that fit both form design and function more perfectly than these. I mean, right out of the box I knew I wanted to race in these. One of the unwritten but oft spoken rules of running is NOT to race in brand new shoes. Ya….well I did. And there was much rejoicing.

The particular race was the Spartan Charity Sprintheld at Killington VT on September 23rd 2013. If you’re not familiar with Killington or Vermont as a whole, there are some things you should know: It’s hilly and it’s wet. And this shoe dominated on this terrain. I’ve never felt a pair of shoes that fit both form design and function more perfectly than these.I’ve trained and raced in a few different shoes. Vibrams, Brooks and InoV8s to name a few. And I like them all for different reasons. But this shoe feels like it was made for OCR.

There is cushion. These are NOT barefoot or minimal or zero drop (trying to confirm the actual drop and stack height of the sole). This shoe is comfortable without being overbearing. It doesn’t feel like I’m running in pudding, but I definitely get enough protection from the shoe. I don’t feel like I’m 3 inches off the surface either. I supinate quite a bit (big toe rolls up and out) and these shoes felt great on my compromised ankles.

Hey, it fits! I asked for a 9.5, and they fit. I used to wear the big ol’ white Reebok High Tops back in high school so I was familiar with Reeboks sizing (even if they’re VERY different shoes). The fit even stayed true when soaked through.. You’re not going to do a Spartan Race and have dry shoes….

Look at the bottom of these things! That’s some grip, some really good grip actually. The traction was fantastic on the steep slopes, and look at the heels. I was able to jam my foot into the mountain side when descending the steep stuff. I had slid all over the place in the day before in other trail runners, not this time. And check out the sides, there is traction there to help on a rope climb if you do need to use your feet.

The laces never slipped during a double knot, the colors are kind of cool and they have pull tabs that you can hang the shoes from.

So there’s the Pros. Cons?? Well, this is tough one. I haven’t found one yet. For a shoe that MSRPs for 85 bones, you can’t really go wrong here. If you’re not a minimalist or a barefooter, this is great off road shoe. I’d love to run in them on Peavine and do a high desert review……

So there you have it: Geoff’s brief, but raving, review of the Reebok Outdoor Wild. While he hasn’t put a ton of miles on them yet, he has put them through two different OCR’s thus far, both with vastly different terrain. As this is a newer shoe on the market, I know many of you may have questions. Please post them in the comments section below, and Geoff (or I) will do our best to answer them for you. *Reebok provided Geoff with these shoes at no charge as a part of a FitFluential, LLC campaign, however, all opinions expressed are our own.

Hey Ben and Brian! Thank you for your comments. The Outdoor Wild do not have drainage ports, and aren’t designed specifically for draining. Geoff says that they did collect water, but they fit his foot so well that he didn’t fell like there was a lot of space for water to collect (if that makes sense) and thus not a lot of pooling. They dry relatively fast, but for scientific (!) purposes, we just put them in the bathtub and filled them with water. I’ll update soon with drying results. As far as draining, the water mostly came out of the lacing area rather than the toe or front of the shoe.

I will say, almost 6 months later, Geoff is still wearing these shoes often, he loves the fit.

Hi Alexander! I wouldn’t wear them for a marathon or ultramarathon. I think they are too stiff for the constant pounding. They work well for OCR in my opinion because there is so much climbing and off trail terrain, but I imagine the tread, which almost feels like wearing soccer cleats at times, might become uncomfortable in standard trail running.

Hi Heather and Geoff–Just got a pair of these one week after also buying the all-terrains. Have test-trail run in both and really feel I need the support of the Out. Wilds. I am used to a lot of support in a shoe, so the ATs feel very strange to me. Running Muckfest at Ft. Devens in Ayer MA on Sat, so will let u know how it goes. Am pretty certain will wear the OWs. PS–I trail ran 5 miles with them today and got them nice and muddy.

Hey! So how did the “drying test” came out?!?! I have the All Terrain Super and I love them for Sprint distance but just got this Wild Extreme and want to know about how they hold water since I’m running the Vermont Beast in September with them.

Fernando: they don’t dry nearly as fast as the All Terrain Supers do; they drain more at the same speed of a conventional running shoe. Despite that, they’ve still proven to be Geoff’s go-to-shoe for OCR…he’s wearing them this weekend at the Boston Sprint and likely to the Vermont Beast as well.

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Meet Heather

I'm Heather, mom of two, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist, and an overzealous athlete who cannot focus on a single discipline, so I train for all of them at the same time. When in doubt, I run...and then write about it. Read More…

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